DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from applicant's description) Evidence suggests that phonological sensitivity is present in preschool children, is relatively stable from kindergarten, and represents the basic ability that difficult to remediate and reading-impaired children lack. The specific aims of the proposed project are to validate measures of phonological sensitivity and other phonological processing abilities for use with preschool children, to examine the developmental sequence of phonological processing skills across levels of linguistic complexity, to identify potential developmental relations among language factors, phonological sensitivity, and early reading skills, as well as to explore possible links between the development of phonological processing skills and formal and informal exposure and instruction in print and alphabet knowledge in the home.